Can a Cut-Down Tree Sprout Again?

COMPARED to a beautiful cedar tree of Lebanon, a bent and twisted olive tree may not seem too impressive. But olive trees have the amazing ability to survive in difficult conditions. Some are about 1,000 years old. An olive tree’s roots stretch far beneath the ground, and the tree can be restored even if the trunk has been destroyed. As long as the roots remain alive, it will grow again.

The faithful man Job was confident that even if he died, he would live again. (Job 14:13-15) He used the example of a tree, possibly an olive tree, to show his confidence in God’s ability to resurrect him. Job said: “There is hope even for a tree. If it is cut down, it will sprout again.” When it rains after a drought, a dry olive stump can come back to life and produce “branches like a new plant.”​—Job 14:7-9.

Just as a farmer is eager to see an olive tree that was cut down come back to life, Jehovah God is eager to resurrect his servants and many others. (Matthew 22:31, 32; John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) Imagine how joyful we will be as we welcome back the dead and see them alive once again!